New Can-Am book

UPDATE! We can now reveal an image of the actual book, with its slip-case.

I hope I'll be forgiven for letting my fellow Can-Am fans know of this upcoming book.

Due in August (2010) from David Bull Publishing, "Can-Am Cars in Detail" will be a loving, lavish look at 22 cars as they are today. Most are genuine survivors of the old wars, with a handful of continuation or reproduction vehicles as we deemed necessary. Included are all 3 surviving Can-Am Chaparrals, several McLarens and Lolas, 3 Porsche Panzers, the first and last Shadows ("Tiny Tire" and DN4), Amon's magnificent Ferrari—though it's only a 5-liter now, plus of course Posey's de Dion Caldwell, a Genie, a McKee and yes, everybody's favorite, Andretti's infamous lavender Honker!Photos show various important, interesting or simply visually appealing aspects of these wonderful machines, in both exterior and underbody views.

Printed to very high quality coffee table standards, the book will measure 11 x 11 inches and contain 244 pages with 159 images. Price will be set at US$99.95 for the standard edition. At a higher pricepoint, there will be a very limited run of a Publisher's Edition containing more material, plus autographs of significant Can-Am figures.

I wrote the text—a work of joy, I must say—while the superb museum photographer (and club racer) Peter Harholdt crafted the images. Peter spent much of 2009 and early 2010 traveling the U.S. in his pickup towing a trailer, which he built himself, that unfolds into a field studio embracing his subjects. All I had to do was spend endless delightful hours on the phone talking to friends, old and new, about their treasures.

A few more pictures and more information can be found on my website, www.petelyons.com, through which I'll be offering copies for sale, and also my Facebook page, http://www.facebook....115159568494822. I've also added some material to Facebook's "Can-Am History" group.

Surely Lolas were second in division 1, not right down in division 2 ! How come just because they werent quite as successful as the McLarens, the Lolas are always written off ? Its an old chestnut that should be buried for ever. (Or am I just a pathetic supporter of the under-dog !?) What do YOU say, mr Lyons sir ?

What I was originally going to say was, I cant wait to buy this book.....when I was a nipper, my Dad kept his old Autosports on the down-stairs bog cistern, and Pete Lyons' Can-Am reports were the only bits I really wanted to read. Every Tamiya Can-Am model was bought (werent they expensive ?) or begged for, and now, eventually, I have a real one in my shed ! All, in large part, due to PL's firing words in the Spurt !

I tend to agree with you, Tom. After all, Lolas won the title in 1966 with five wins from six races, then one more in 1967. The last two were in 1971, but perhaps more due to the driver (Stewart) than the car (the unloved T-260).

It seems to me that at the start the Lola T-70 was the chassis to have, as it leapfrogged the McLaren M1 variations. But then McLaren responded with the M6A and jumped to the front. This is just a theory, but I think that Lola never responded with a competitive car to the McLarens perhaps because Lola was more focused on the customer car market, while McLaren paid more attention to the racing, having farmed out the production end to Trojan. Just a thought, maybe it does not carry any credence, but it may have been a reason why Lola never built a really competitive Can Am car after the T-70.
Tom

Yes very true. There's not much wrong with the T160-3, and it never got the development that the factory McLarens got. At the end of the day, Bruce and his boys were bloody good, too ! I dont think it helped that Surtees gave up on his T160 and never really got back into the Lolas. It was rather duff PR for the cars.

Pete, that sounds wonderful, my perfect book, but the question that I hope all are asking, which McLarens? Any factory cars?

Also, very much 'division 2' as far as CanAm goes, but which Lolas?

Rob, unfortunately there had to be a painful culling process, but in the end the "factory" McLarens we chose are:- Bruce's 1967 Championship winning M6A, the mag-chassis car later used by Donohue and then Hansen, subsequently restored to its original splendor;- Denny's 1971 M8F, sister to Revson's championship car (which was beyond our geographical reach);- Denny's 1972 M20, his second chassis, the Watkins Glen winner (we caught it just before it too went overseas).

We really wanted to show the most successful McLaren of them all, the dominant M8B, but our understanding is that the only surviving example isn't in photogenic condition. So we opted for the beautiful replica built by Tom Frederick. Also, we just had to include Gurney's McLeagle and Andretti's 429'er. That's not an end to the McLarens we like, but an end to what we could fit in.

For T70 Lolas, there are several beauties available, but we couldn't resist Gurney's Ford-powered Bridgehampton winner. We also have Stewart's T260 (the unraced spare "White House Car," because we've been told that the one Jackie actually raced is in bits) plus Hobbs' T310.

My guiding thought while selecting these cars was to showcase, not just successful ones, but the incredibly broad spectrum of fascinating, inventive, occasionally wacky designs fostered by the old "unlimited" Can-Am.

Re what I think of the T70, I LOVE the T70. Always have, always will. I'm a sucker for a pretty body and besides, for a shining year or so it was the best sports racer on the planet. The day vintage racer Steve Young let me have a few laps in his at Sears Point (oops, we're supposed to say Infineon) only underlined all my feelings for the lovely old girl. She drives as sweet as she looks.
Of course, to be fair and objective, I really need to get someone to sit me in a McLaren... That isn't what's in your shed, is it?

And I agree with Other Tom's remark about the different motivations and approaches by McLaren vs. Lola. I make the same point in the book.

Thank you, Sir Frank! Cobra fans on TNF will know of Barrett as the author of DBP's splendid "Shelby Cars in Detail"

... which was part of my motive for asking about the "PE"; mine made a trip to Terlingua/Lajitas, where Mr Yeager, Mr Bondurant, Mr Neale, and Mr Shelby were kind enough to add supplemental signatures, after they praised it effusively.

Mr. Lyons - I'm really looking forward to seeing the new book. I think the right car was chosen for the cover, the Chaparral's certainly caught my eye as a kid. Beautiful!

Thank you B Squared, and I share your admiration for those cars, but let me clarify that the illustration at the top is NOT the cover of the book. I simply put a couple of images together in hopes of representing the book's flavor without giving too much away at this time. The actual cover art will be released nearer to the date of publication, maybe in a month or so. My apologies for causing confusion.

UPDATE August 2: The actual cover art can now be revealed and I've replaced my own temporary concoction with a photo of the real thing, above.

While I certainly understand your point, I think we are blessed to have an author and photographer with the impeccable credentials of Mr. Lyons wanting to make himself available to answer our questions and entertain our comments. I personally feel that some of this interaction may be lost if it were only on the book thread. No complaints here. I think TNF has the room to accommodate one more topic line on its 554 (and counting) pages.

I have the 917 X17 book from David Bull Publishing. If it is even half as good as that book it will be worth purchasing! Sounds like this one is along similar lines but based on the can am cars. For those in Oz we pay an exorbidant price for these kind of books from local sellers. I dont like not buying from shops here but it but it FAR cheaper to buy from places like Amazon.

I have the 917 X17 book from David Bull Publishing. If it is even half as good as that book it will be worth purchasing! Sounds like this one is along similar lines but based on the can am cars. For those in Oz we pay an exorbidant price for these kind of books from local sellers. I dont like not buying from shops here but it but it FAR cheaper to buy from places like Amazon.

Please understand local sellers are not trying to rip-off anyone - it is a fact that massive volume sellers such as Amazon work on thin margins, also often they obtain much higher trade discounts from either the publisher or distributor than is available to the average bookshop.

Even worse is the fact that publishers themselves are discounting their own titles to a point where quite often the direct private buyer can now obtain a title from the publisher at a greater discount than offered to trade outlets.

Thanks, so am I! I can't wait to hold one in my hands. Publisher David Bull tells me that the printing house has started work and we should have a few airmailed copies back in a few weeks, with a good supply in time for the formal launch at Monterey in August. Meanwhile, petelyons.com is now set up to take pre-orders. We have over a dozen in hand already.

I can't stand not asking: do you have a McLaren chassis with Lola bodywork, or the front end of one grafted to the back of another, or maybe side-to-side, or...???

(Random but related anecdote: One day I happened to be at a track, Mid-Ohio I think, when Frank Gardner went out to test a brand new Lola F5000. He rolled back in, shut it off and everyone gathered around. He paused to gather his thoughts, then drawled, "Well, you've got two very good cah's heah. One up that end [pointing forward], the other back theah.")

From David Bull Publishing. Congratulations to both of these fine gentlemen.

I'm pleased to let you know that Pete Lyons has won both the Motor Press Guild's Best Book of 2010 and the Dean Batchelor Award for Can-Am Cars in Detail. Pete's vivid writing and Peter Harholdt's stunning photographs combine to provide a compelling look at the series through 22 cars that defined the unbridled spirit of the Can-Am. It's a sensational, beautiful book.

The Batchelor Awards were held Tuesday night at a gala at The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Jay Leno entertained us and was riotously funny in his stand-up routine and his question-and-answer exchanges with the audience. Jay is a huge car enthusiast and is immensely knowledgeable, so there was a lot to talk about. You can see photos of the event at the MPG site by clicking here.

This is the second time one of our books has won the coveted Batchelor Award (Mario Andretti: A Driving Passion was the first) and it's the third year in a row that we have won Best Book, following Portraits and The Brothers Rodriguez. Each year three book finalists are selected, and I'm proud that every year since 2005 one or two of our titles has been chosen.

To celebrate, I'm offering these earlier winners, Portraits, The Brothers Rodriguez, and Mario Andretti at a 25% discount through the end of this year. And while we're on the subject of Can-Am I want to recommend Peter Bryant's terrific memoir, Can-Am Challenger, and include it in this offer. It's a rollicking account of Peter's racing experience in the UK, Europe, and the US. Please see the full description on our Web site. When ordering on line, please enter the discount code DBA when checking out and be sure to click the "apply" box.

Honestly Pete, I've considered every option, in an irritating advertising phrase that may mean nothing to those outside the UK, "Because you're worth it", but a few weeks ago I was looking at the book on your site, doodling some figures for an autographed copy on a pad at my side, when a voice just over my shoulder exclaimed, "You're not thinking of paying that for a book are you!?!?". The problem is the massive airmail charges of course, which are clearly not your fault, so now I'm on the waiting list of a major UK supplier, condemned to wait patiently, though not for too much longer I hope.

The pic above is evidence that in years gone by, although rather less affluent, I was also less tight-fisted, but I haven't even the slightest doubt that it's worth waiting for.

Yes very true. There's not much wrong with the T160-3, and it never got the development that the factory McLarens got. At the end of the day, Bruce and his boys were bloody good, too ! I dont think it helped that Surtees gave up on his T160 and never really got back into the Lolas. It was rather duff PR for the cars.

However, since 1968 was 5 years before Can Am came up on my radar I wonder if anybody could enlighten me as to how Dan Gurney came to purchase both an M6B and a T160 for 1968 and then appears to have chosen to put all of his efforts into developing the M6B which became known as the McLeagle ?

I would guess Gurney was hedging his bets by purchasing both the M6B and the T160. I don't know that he put all of his efforts into developing the M6B. Gurney drove the M6B at Bridgehampton, Edmonton, and Laguna Seca, while Swede Savage drove the T160. After a dismal 23rd qualifying spot for Gurney at Laguna Seca, they swapped cars for the final two races at Riverside and Las Vegas. As it turned out, the team's best result was a fourth for Savage in the Lola at Bridgehampton. Found this link on the Lola:

I wonder if anybody could enlighten me as to how Dan Gurney came to purchase both an M6B and a T160 for 1968 and then appears to have chosen to put all of his efforts into developing the M6B which became known as the McLeagle ?

I think it was mainly about timing, Dan had a 3 year old Lola T70 that he replaced with a new T160, but it was only after he'd committed himself that McLaren started offering customer M6Bs, the orange cars were clearly the thing to have, so Dan bought one of those as well. If he'd left it stock and fitted a decent Chevy, he'd probably have won races, but he had to fiddle. Although they'd continually messed him about with broken promises, he stayed loyal to Ford, and that was his biggest problem, despite clever modifications, he was always out-gunned, he had more revs than the opposition but was lacking torque and peak power. AAR put a lot of effort into their M6B, they probably reckoned it would be a better bet than Lola's somewhat halfhearted Can Am effort, they lightened everything, narrowed the track, altered the geometry, and 'improved' the aerodynamics, but what they ended up with was an underpowered and unreliable car with twitchy handling. Eventually Dan gave up on Ford, who were providing more backing to Holman-Moody, and he fitted a 427 Chevy, but the car was still hopelessly unreliable, Dan must have missed more races through car problems than he turned up for. A missed opportunity and one of motor racing's biggest "if onlys".